Kasi Research Group
Welcome to the Kasi Research Group Home Page
Research Overview
Our group is interested in designing polymers bearings functional moieties such as steroids, lipids, peptides, and ionomers. The amphiphilic nature of polymers bearing lipids and ionic units will be used to produce a plethora of self-assembled morphologies in the solid and solution states. By virtue of the functional groups present in the polymer, these materials respond to various stimuli which will be harnessed for applications in responsive materials, artificial muscles, shape-memory materials, targeted drug-delivery, and sensors. The development of new polymeric materials requires a multi-disciplinary approach including developing new synthetic methodologies, modification of existing synthetic routes, structure-property evaluation using routine and advanced characterization methods.
Synthetic and Biocompatible Nanoactuators
In the preparation of synthetic and biocompatible materials, we use organic and organometallic synthesis to prepare monomers. Polymers are synthesized from these monomers by polymerization techniques including controlled radical methods and metal catalyzed polymerization. Polymers with ionomeric and steroidal liquid crystalline units are being developed as model synthetic thermal and electrical nanoactuators. A step in the forward is to develop amphiphilic polymers with lipids and peptide units to prepare biocompatible nanoactuators and sensors that respond under physiological conditions.
Polymer Gels
Polymer gels are classified into chemical gels and physical gels, depending on the nature of cross-links. In chemical gels, a three dimensional network is achieved through permanent covalent bonds, which cannot be dissolved in solvents while physical gels are formed by the growth of physically connected aggregates. Depending on the nature of each gelling system, the junctions may be hydrogen bonds, crystalline regions, ionic clusters, or phase-separated microdomains. We are interested in exploring the theme of gelation in organic, aqueous, and liquid crystalline states of polymers synthesized in our group for applications in responsive materials and biotechnology.